After what seemed like an eternity, football season is back! The Hawks won in dominant fashion and gave fans quite a bit to cheer for. But even after a 40-0 thrashing, but Kirk and IowaLaw believe there are things that need to be cleaned up if the Hawks want a shot at the playoffs.
1. Diez Lived Up to the Hype / Vonnahme Did Not. Going into the season, Vonnahme was already anointed offensive player of the year and 1st round draft prospect by the Iowa media (and quite a few on this board)...despite averaging less than 3 catches per game last year. Diez too came in with some hype, but it was more measured because he plays a position where Hawk fans have been disappointed many times before. But it was Diez who looked the part out there with 84 yards receiving (after being targeted 11+ times) and another 10 yards rushing. A legit Big 10 WR on the roster? It finally looks that way. Vonnahme, on the other hand, looks the part, but after randying around with an unexpected 3 AWFUL drops and just 4 catches, an all Big 10 TE he is not...just yet. Hopefully he cleans that up.
2. Running Game Cooked. I was skeptical of Moulton being Iowa's #1 back. Last year he was solid, but rarely broke the big plays and seemed like more of a depth back. I kinda hoped Williams or Phillips would step up in the spring and take the starting spot. But Moulton put in the work and had himself a game. 11 carries for 183 yards all in the first half (I think) is a historic performance. Phillips, Williams, and McNeil, by comparison, looked pedestrian despite running behind an elite OL.
3. Kicking Concerns. Fans have been spoiled by having an NFL caliber kicker the past 4 years. Missed kicks have been few and far between. So when a walk-on named Buhr beat out a scholarship transfer who took a nice NIL check to come to Iowa, I was intrigued. Watching Buhr walk out there and pee down his leg in his first extra point and first field goal as a college kicker was kind of terrifying. Most high school kickers this week hit their first extra point. Buhr finished the game by hitting on the rest of his kicks. Fingers crossed that this doesn't become a problem throughout the season.
4. Mixed Bag at QB. The QBs were ok, and before being critical of either, we have to remember that last year the Hawks spent $2M on a big ticket portal QB who went 8-15 for 44 yards against a cupcake in his first game. Both Brown and Heck looked exponentially better than that. Brown looks the part of a typical Iowa statue QB with mediocre footwork and a fear of throwing the ball down the field. He finished 12 of 20 for 129 yards...tho he seemed to lock onto Tony Diez every time he stepped back to pass. Heck's stats, in my opinion, were misleading. He went 7 of 16 for 76 yards (and a nifty 16 yard scramble), but he would have been closer to 12 of 16 for 150 yards if receivers didn't drop one ball after another for him. Diez dropped a bunny, Vonnahme dropped two, and even Vander Zee dropped a gimme.
5. Defense Shines, As Usual. The defense was flawless. Buffington is the stud LB in the making that IowaLaw was clamoring about last year. He led the team in tackles and seemed comfortable out there. The DLine held NIU to just 7 rushing yards on 31 attempts! Unreal. Lutmer didn't make any of the huge plays that we've come to expect from him, but he didn't need to either. It was cool seeing Manson and Epenesa out there contributing...hopefully we were witnessing the first installation of a 3 year package deal where those young guys become all-Americans.
6. Vander Zee Returning Punts? Every offseason it's fun to anticipate who the next great Hawkeye return man will be. Lutmer was an exciting prospect. Maybe one of the transfers? Maybe a speedy freshmen? So when Vander Zee stepped back to return the first punt it was a headscratcher. Had he shown any glimpses of breakaway quickness or home run speed over the past 3 years at Iowa? No. At 6'4, I hoped he'd be a solid big target WR who can make catches in traffic...not a shifty punt returner. And sure enough, he looked bad back there. He waved away his first punt so it rolled 20 yards past him. Then he fair caught the next despite there being room to run. Then he returned a punt for 1 yard. At that point, I was questioning what the new special teams coach could possibly be thinking. Was he sucking up to Kirk by giving out union cards to veterans? Then something exciting happened. The Hawks gave another guy a chance (rare at Iowa). A tiny school transfer from Furman named Evan James. He certainly made the most of his opportunity. 3 returns for 77 yards and a TD was quite the breakout performance. I'd just like to see him play a role at WR next week as well.
1. Diez Lived Up to the Hype / Vonnahme Did Not. Going into the season, Vonnahme was already anointed offensive player of the year and 1st round draft prospect by the Iowa media (and quite a few on this board)...despite averaging less than 3 catches per game last year. Diez too came in with some hype, but it was more measured because he plays a position where Hawk fans have been disappointed many times before. But it was Diez who looked the part out there with 84 yards receiving (after being targeted 11+ times) and another 10 yards rushing. A legit Big 10 WR on the roster? It finally looks that way. Vonnahme, on the other hand, looks the part, but after randying around with an unexpected 3 AWFUL drops and just 4 catches, an all Big 10 TE he is not...just yet. Hopefully he cleans that up.
2. Running Game Cooked. I was skeptical of Moulton being Iowa's #1 back. Last year he was solid, but rarely broke the big plays and seemed like more of a depth back. I kinda hoped Williams or Phillips would step up in the spring and take the starting spot. But Moulton put in the work and had himself a game. 11 carries for 183 yards all in the first half (I think) is a historic performance. Phillips, Williams, and McNeil, by comparison, looked pedestrian despite running behind an elite OL.
3. Kicking Concerns. Fans have been spoiled by having an NFL caliber kicker the past 4 years. Missed kicks have been few and far between. So when a walk-on named Buhr beat out a scholarship transfer who took a nice NIL check to come to Iowa, I was intrigued. Watching Buhr walk out there and pee down his leg in his first extra point and first field goal as a college kicker was kind of terrifying. Most high school kickers this week hit their first extra point. Buhr finished the game by hitting on the rest of his kicks. Fingers crossed that this doesn't become a problem throughout the season.
4. Mixed Bag at QB. The QBs were ok, and before being critical of either, we have to remember that last year the Hawks spent $2M on a big ticket portal QB who went 8-15 for 44 yards against a cupcake in his first game. Both Brown and Heck looked exponentially better than that. Brown looks the part of a typical Iowa statue QB with mediocre footwork and a fear of throwing the ball down the field. He finished 12 of 20 for 129 yards...tho he seemed to lock onto Tony Diez every time he stepped back to pass. Heck's stats, in my opinion, were misleading. He went 7 of 16 for 76 yards (and a nifty 16 yard scramble), but he would have been closer to 12 of 16 for 150 yards if receivers didn't drop one ball after another for him. Diez dropped a bunny, Vonnahme dropped two, and even Vander Zee dropped a gimme.
5. Defense Shines, As Usual. The defense was flawless. Buffington is the stud LB in the making that IowaLaw was clamoring about last year. He led the team in tackles and seemed comfortable out there. The DLine held NIU to just 7 rushing yards on 31 attempts! Unreal. Lutmer didn't make any of the huge plays that we've come to expect from him, but he didn't need to either. It was cool seeing Manson and Epenesa out there contributing...hopefully we were witnessing the first installation of a 3 year package deal where those young guys become all-Americans.
6. Vander Zee Returning Punts? Every offseason it's fun to anticipate who the next great Hawkeye return man will be. Lutmer was an exciting prospect. Maybe one of the transfers? Maybe a speedy freshmen? So when Vander Zee stepped back to return the first punt it was a headscratcher. Had he shown any glimpses of breakaway quickness or home run speed over the past 3 years at Iowa? No. At 6'4, I hoped he'd be a solid big target WR who can make catches in traffic...not a shifty punt returner. And sure enough, he looked bad back there. He waved away his first punt so it rolled 20 yards past him. Then he fair caught the next despite there being room to run. Then he returned a punt for 1 yard. At that point, I was questioning what the new special teams coach could possibly be thinking. Was he sucking up to Kirk by giving out union cards to veterans? Then something exciting happened. The Hawks gave another guy a chance (rare at Iowa). A tiny school transfer from Furman named Evan James. He certainly made the most of his opportunity. 3 returns for 77 yards and a TD was quite the breakout performance. I'd just like to see him play a role at WR next week as well.
Last edited:
